Black GTN

[sailfish]

Hello to all the forum members, and let me start by saying how helpful this site has been.

I was wondering if you could answer a couple of questions. I've had in my possesion for a number of years a black Electro GTN passed on to me by my dad who bought it in the 80s. Overal it seems to be in great shape, apart from a couple of things:

1. the battery had been left inside for how knows how long...and pressume some leakage has occured.
2. one of the LED indicators on the top is broken. O'wise in tip top condition.

Having read a lot on this forum and elsewhere on the net I'll give it a try and see if I can repair these problems, but my question is should in the event that I won't be able to fix these, is it still worth experimenting with this camera ? (u'stand that w'out a battery the camera will work only on 1/500 setting?) I am fairly new in photography, but prefer to learn the basics oldstyle and not on digital cameras (also own a Nikon F60 SLR).

Thanks for taking time to read this.

 

[rogue_designer]

nope - not worth it... send it to me immediately, and I'll dispose of it properly. 😀

(yes - firstly, those should be relatively easy to fix - and secondly, you can play with it at 1/500 with a handmeter, and take advatage of the wonderful lens, and in the future send it out for repair).

 

[sailfish]

Thanks for yr prompt reply rogue_designer! 🙂!

 

[ruben]

Hi Sailfish,
For the sake of conspicuity I have black taped the lights indicator at the top of my GS(N, etc). So unless you happen to need the light indicators not only in the viewfinder but also on the top casting, I wouldn't bother about it at all.

Now the serious issue: With new batteries inside, is your camera working or not ? ? ?

In both cases I would contact a very nice guy in our forum whose pen name is GREYHOUNDMAN, who among other things is both an authority on the matter and a repairman himself.

The point to be taken into account, is in my opinion, that you have a camera you know for sure that beside its battery problem, everything else is tip top.
This is a better location to invest your money than having to go to eBay and live with the consequences.

Cheers, AND WELCOME TO THE FORUM !

Ruben

 

[sailfish]

Hi Ruben,

and thanks very much for yr reply.🙂 I am happy to report that last night after cleaning the battery chamber with white vinegar and inserted four taped together LR44 batteries (with some cupboard arnd them and a spring on top) the electronics seem to work just fine !!! The batt check light illuminates and I get the red and yellow arrows in the view finder. I haven't worked the camera with a battery before and I am missing the manual, but I think with all these indications/electronics functioning the camera is working more or less the way it should (am I wrong ??). I am a very happy man indeed as I was not optimistic it would work after all these years of inactivity.

Next step is to to replace the light sheds...

Sailfish

 

[ruben]

.......Next step is to to replace the light sheds...

Sailfish

No big deal, and you can even use home cotton, twisted accordingly and latter black painted. Any other foam good as well.

Good luck !

 

[sailfish]

Hi Ruben,

checked with a repair shop where i live (Greece) and they hv quoted abt 40$ to replace the seals alone !!!!!! so i think i'll some DIY replacing instead !

A quick question if you can help (sorry to bother but i am anxious to start shooting some rolls 😱):

How can i tell if the PoD needs replacing? I don't want opening up the camera without good reason and am afraid that i might do more damage instead (not having worked on a camera before). The red/yellow arrows seem to work properly in the viewfinder, but other thatn than any other sign to look for?

 

[ruben]

What's the meaning of "PoD" ?

 

[zuikologist]

Sailfish - congratulations. Welcome to the forum. The light seals should be easy to replace. The main problem is getting all the old gunky seals out before putting new ones in. The link below is quite useful for all Yashica queries:

http://www.yashica-guy.com/index.html

You can use any foam cut to fit or use Jon Goodman's excellent kits (name interslice on ebay).

Good luck with the repair and let's see some photos soon.

 

[rogue_designer]

Sailfish - check out zuikologists link to the Yashica guy - under the "repairs you can do" section he outlines the Pad of death, its symtoms, and its repair procedure.

 

[zuikologist]

PoD - Pad of death. A small plastic piece that is at the bottom of the shutter mechanism. Repair info is here:

http://www.yashica-guy.com/document/repair.html#nine

I think the main issue is to use material of the correct thickness and strength. Others on the forum have more experience on this.

 

[sailfish]

think stands for "Pad of death" as i've seen mentioned by other users. Believe is properly called "assembly stop pad", small piece of rubber abt 2mm thick. Don't know if that helps???

 

[sailfish]

Just seen the replies, thanks to all..will check on the links you've mentioned

Hope to hv some photos soon!

 

[ruben]

Sailfish, by using the search engine of the forum, you may find that hundreds or more of our members own and used or use Electros !

 

[Rob]

Check with Jon goodman here on RFF, I think he goes by Interslice on Ebay,
I thinkl, his seal kits are complete with instructions and enough material
to do several cameras and high quality too. He ships worldwide and his stuff
is very inexpensive also!
Rob

 

[flashover]

The POD is a rubber (or similar material) pad in the shutter release system. If the pad is gone or broken down it effects the working of the camera. An easy way to check is to listen for a clunk sound when you wind the camera. I f there is no clunk the pad is most likely bad. I t can be replaced with the removal of the top cover with the total disassembly of the camera.

 

[sailfish]

Another question for all the experienced Electro users:

When the meter is working and the red/yellow arrows appear in the viewfinder, there is sometimes (but not always) a low whizzing sound. From what I've read in here this is quite normal, but my question is whether the sound should be there always ? In the cases when the metering appears to be functioning (red/yellow arroes working), does the absence of this noise indicate that something may be wrong with the electronics??

Thanks,

Nikos

 

[Pherdinand]

It's a sign of the electronic contacts corroding a bit, I think. But it should not mean anything bad as long as the lights still work.

 

[sailfish]

Thanks a lot Pherdinand 🙂